112 Unemployment and Public Library Usage in the United States: Evidence from Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Faculty Mentor: Sarah F. Small (Economics, University of Utah)

I came into the program with one big question: whether or not I want to pursue an Economics PhD. Though I have done research for two years in my undergraduate studies, I still felt unsure whether it’s a path I want to commit to long-term. Deep into SPUR, I was exposed to an environment where I could really see what it’s like to be a PhD student, what it’s like to do research, to get stuck in the process, and how to pull yourself out of stressful situations that come with academia and research.

This experience pushed me to grow in many ways, especially in how I communicate. Some of the skills I learned that are very valuable to me include the ability to articulate my ideas promptly and clearly during meetings with my PIs. I learned to carefully listen to what others have to say and then offer my opinion. Sometimes, it’s easy to get lost in what others are saying because we’re too focused on what we’re going to say next. But in collaborative research, communication is everything. It’s also about asking the right questions, which means thinking about what we are really interested in finding out. Sometimes overcomplicating things doesn’t help. My PI told me that it’s okay to write down all the “fancy stuff” for later or for another research project. The key is to start simple. Study the literature, revise your question, begin with simple models, then build up to the rigorous ones.

One of the first challenges I faced was data cleaning and preparation, figuring out how to best scoop out the messy parts to answer our research question. There were times I was really stuck and frustrated, but I was also madly curious to figure out a solution. And like the saying goes, no pain, no gain. When I finally solved the problem, it gave me the feeling that I could achieve anything in the world. That kind of breakthrough moment is hard to describe, but it’s part of what made this summer so memorable.

But not every moment felt that fulfilling. In the middle of the program, I actually lost interest in grad school for a bit. I felt overwhelmed and questioned whether this was really what I wanted to do long-term. What helped me during that time was talking to the right person, someone who had gone through a similar experience. Hearing them talk about their journey and how they made their decision made a huge difference.

That experience taught me something else: motivation in research doesn’t always stay the same, and that’s okay. At least for me, it comes in waves. Some days I was excited to code or model, while other days I didn’t feel like doing anything. Some parts of research are less exciting, but I learned that it all balances out in the end. This was something I heard echoed by other researchers as well, and it helped me feel more normal about how I was feeling.

Alongside the academic work, one of the most inspiring parts of SPUR was meeting people from so many different fields. During my 10 weeks, I met not just SPUR scholars, but also REU, UROP, and the U students. Everyone was doing research in something different, such as engineering, social sciences, medicine, and more. What struck me was how we each found something that interested us and chose to dive deeper into it. That’s the beauty of research, in my opinion.

Living with other students doing research, we’d often ask each other, “What is your research about?” Learning how to explain what I’m working on to someone outside my field became another skill. You have to speak simply so that they can understand. And sometimes, just by talking with others, even if they’re from a totally different discipline, you end up finding an answer you hadn’t thought of before. Those small conversations had a big impact.

Before coming to SPUR, I used to think research was mostly for academia, which is why I thought doing a PhD meant becoming a professor. But after meeting people who had done research PhDs and seeing the many directions they went in, I found that really intriguing. I’ve come to learn that a PhD doesn’t just teach you knowledge, it teaches you how to ask the right questions, how to find the tools to answer them, and how to keep learning. Because research is always evolving. It can open doors to policy, consulting, private sector roles, and more. What we study during a PhD might be different by the time we graduate. It’s the skills we build along the way that matter most.

And that’s something I’ll carry with me going forward. These skills, learning how to ask, think, and adapt, are what shape our future. There’s no one set path for students who finish a PhD. It’s not about following a strict career route, it’s about figuring out how to think independently and creatively.

As I wrap up this program, I feel much more confident that I will eventually pursue an Economics PhD. I might still have some uncertainties, but I now have a clearer idea of what I want to do career-wise. And I believe that getting a higher degree will hopefully help me land the kind of career I want to pursue.

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